I have three turtles and three tanks. I got my first turtle in Aug. and he is a cooter. He is much bigger than my other two turtles. The second turtle I have is a r.e.s. got him in Nov. name Bambam and on Christmas Eve I got my third turtle Baby Dino also, a r.e.s. Well, both Bambam and Dino shared a tank at the beginning but, then Dino got sick with r.i. and I had to separate the two. Since then Bambam has gotten bigger and Dino hasn't grown much. Keeping three tanks isn't fun and I really want them to live together so I would only have two tanks to keep up. But, I'm worried about the difference in size. I would hate for Dino to get hurt. He is my baby I was thinking about housing them in one tank but, feeding them out of their tank so they wouldn't fight over food. Am I taking a risk if I house them together. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

housing them together is a bad idea. RES are notorious for being territoral and if they havent been together since hatchlings they will most likely fight. keep the three sep. tanks. its a pain to clean, but thats what happens when you have multiple turtles!

Hi. I have introduced small turtles into a larger turtles tank with no problems (RES), and have done it with others who irritated the heck out of each other. Never any violence, but that is always possible. If you try to do it you literally have to devote HOURS of time to watch their behavior and act accordingly, such as removing one if it's getting picked on. It's hit and miss...you never know until you give it a try. Best of luck to you and your babies.

Even if they get along fine together now it doesn't mean they always will.......IMO you will eventually need a very large tank to keep them from fighting. I have two DBTs together for a couple of months and they seem to care less about the others presence in the tank...so it just depends on the turtles themselves but there is always a risk involved.

The only advise that I can give is to isolate your two RES. If do do house them together, or with your cooter, there is a great possibility of waking up one morning to an injured or even worse, a dead RES or cooter as the case might be. Sorry to be harsh but thats the reality of the situation. Keeping the cooter with a RES is a definite no no. Most likely the smaller RES would be vulnerable to the larger one unless you have some really crazy RES like I do .

Its been my experience that if there is a big size difference, it probably won't work out. Its best to raise them together and you will still need a big tank. I could be wrong so i don't want everyone ganging up on me.

Housing them together is possible, but you will have to watch for aggression. I don't know why RES are being made out to be killers because they are not. As with most species it can happen, but it won't always happen. I keep two RES and a smaller map with them without any problems. Just depends on the turtle. What size tank are you thinking of putting them in? A small tank would be asking for trouble.

Its always a gamble introducing turtles. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. I have some rather odd combintations that work, while some of my others of the same species can not even be housed together. My biggest concern with introducing the two you have would be size difference. The one looks like it is quite a bit bigger. It sounds like they have lived together before so it may work, or it may not. If you do try to house them together again make sure yuou have a large enough tank and watch them very carefully for awhile.

My RES girls have about that much difference in size and they do great together. They have been together since hatchlings though (they both had their egg tooth still when I bought them).

Actually the smaller of my two hasn't grown hardly at all--eats the same amount, lives in the same environment etc and is healthy--just small. Actually spent about 3 months in the care of my sister who didn't provide UVB light, adequate food or filtered water. I do believe this plays apart in the not growing.